For himself is rendered “to himself” by some translators. The form is a dative in Greek and so may be translated in either way; but the translator should be conscious of the implications of the two renderings. If one translates “to himself,” the implication is that Paul is saying that the believer affects others by his actions (see Jerusalem Bible “the life and death of each of us has its influence on others”; Phillips “the truth is that we neither live nor die as self-contained units”). But this seems not to be the emphasis that Paul is making in this verse. The verse must be understood in light of what Paul is saying in verse 8, where he affirms that we do not live in relation to ourselves only but rather in relation to God (see New American Bible “none of us lives as his own master and none of us dies as his own master”).
None of us lives for himself only, none of us dies for himself only states an ideal situation, since the situations are immediately expressed as conditional clauses with if in verse 8, namely, if we live and if we die. Something which is thus potential rather than actual must be expressed in some languages in a modal form indicating an ideal potentiality—for example, “no one of us should live for himself only” or “… just for himself.” Since, however, “dying” is a single event rather than an extended process such as “living,” and since “dying” is also a future contingency, it may be necessary to change the second clause of verse 7 and say: “if anyone of us dies, he does not die just for himself.”
The phrase for the Lord may be rendered simply as benefactive in some languages. In other instances a more explicit relationship must be expressed—for example, “we live in order to honor the Lord” or “we live in order that men may praise the Lord.” Similar expression may be used in speaking about dying in verse 8.
A literal translation of verses 7 and 8, based on the exegesis of “no one lives to himself alone and no one dies to himself alone,” is employed widely in some parts of Africa as a confirmation of the efficacy of black magic. That is to say, death is in no sense natural but always brought on by someone else’s evil intent. The possibility of this type of interpretation should be carefully avoided.
Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Romans. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1973. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .